FINAL STATS

Staten Island, NY - Duquesne scored two fourth quarter touchdowns and overcame a 13-point deficit en route to a 21-20 come-from-behind win over Wagner while spoiling the Seahawks' Homecoming Day Festivities. Also prior to the game the Lebovitz Family Scoreboard was dedicated in an official ceremony by Wagner President Richard Guarasci.

The Dukes improve to 5-3 and 3-2 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Seahawks fall to 4-3 and 2-2 in the league. Coach Walt Hameline was also denied his 200th career win and will now attempt to become the 64th person in NCAA history to achieve the milestone on Saturday, October 30 at Central Connecticut State.

Duquesne struck first with a methodical 12-play, 88-yard drive that took 4:30 off the clock and was punctuated with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sean Patterson to Connor Dixon. On the drive, Larry McCoy picked up 45 yards on six carries while helping the Dukes dent the scoreboard. Eric Duale then converted the extra point to make it 7-0 with 8:34 remaining in the first quarter.

Wagner would immediately answer on the next drive. After being backed up 15 yards due to a pair of penalties and facing third-and-17, Nick Doscher (Staten Island, NY / Moore Catholic) evaded a would-be tackler and scampered 18 yards for a first down. The sophomore quarterback then connected with a wide-open Morgan Mizell (Sr., Mount Vernon, NY / Fordham Prep) for a big 41-yard catch-and-run, advancing the ball to the Duquesne 11-yard line. After a pair of Eric Foxworth (Sr., Trenton, NJ / Holy Cross) runs brought the ball to the two-yard line, Doscher drove into the end zone on a two-yard scamper, tying the game up at 7-7 with 4:03 to go in the opening stanza following the David Lopez (Plantation, FL / American Heritage) extra point. All told the Green & White went 63 yards on seven plays and took 4:23 off the clock as Doscher ran for 20 yards and passed for 41.

For the rest of the half it was all defense as both units allowed next to nothing on offense. The Dukes would accumulate just 50 yards on 22 plays as Malik Hall's NEC-best unit made the necessary adjustments, allowing just two first downs, one of which was accrued via penalty. Unfortunately, Wagner fared not much better as the Seahawks notched just four yards and zero first downs in the second quarter.

Wagner was not without its opportunities to take a halftime lead, as the Seahawks failed to add points off a pair of Duke fumbles the last of which occurred with just 2:59 until halftime. Senior Frantz Placide (Sr., Miami, FL / Archbishop Curley Notre Dame) recovered a fumble on a punt return at the Duquesne 29-yard line with 2:59 left in the opening half but the Green & White were unable to further dent the scoreboard.

In the opening half, McCoy notched 79 yards on 17 carries (4.6 ypc) while Patterson was 7-of-14 for 59 yards and a touchdown. Dixon hauled in two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. Doscher was 3-for-8 in the air for 64 yards while picking up 19 yards and a score on the ground.

Wagner erupted out of the gates following intermission, scoring 10 points in the first 3:59 of the second half. Placide returned the opening kickoff of the third period 25 yards to the Seahawk 41-yard line before Doscher connected with junior David Crawford (Carrollton, TX / Hebron) for a 34-yard completion to the Duquesne 25-yard line. Foxworth then took it down to the Duke 11-yard line on a pair of carries before Doscher finished the scoring drive with an 11-yard scoring strike to Crawford in the left-corner of the end zone, giving the Seahawks their first lead of the game at 14-7 when he found Crawford for on an 11-yard score on a fade route to the left side of the end zone.

On the ensuing kick-off, graduate student Chris Jaeger (Sterling, VA / Potomac Falls) crushed Wade Powell while forcing a fumble and sophomore Pat O'Connor (Leominster, MA / Leominster) pounced on the ball at the Duquesne 30-yard line. After a seven-play, 22-yard drive Lopez connected on a 25-yard field goal, extending the Seahawk lead to 17-7 with 11:01 to go in the third period

The teams then traded possessions before Placide recorded his second fumble recovery and Wagner's fourth of the game at the Duke 10-yard line. However, the Seahawks would come away empty handed when Lopez's 23-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

Lopez would redeem himself with a 29-yard field that extended the lead out to 20-7 with 14:51 to go in the game.

From that point on it was all Duquesne.

McCoy ran for four yards on the first play of the next drive before a 15-yard facemask penalty brought the ball into Wagner territory at the 46-yard line. Patterson then hooked up with Dave Williams for a 24-yard gain. McCoy advanced it to the 15-yard line on a pair of carries and Patterson capped the drive with a 15-yard scoring strike to Williams, cutting the lead to 20-14 with 12:45 to play following a Duale extra point.

The teams then traded possessions before Wagner pinned Duquense at its own two-yard line with just 6:08 to play. The Dukes then embarked on a 98-yard drive, picking up four first downs on third-and-long situations as a Patterson's 16-yard scoring strike to Williams gave the visitors an insurmountable 21-20 lead with just 1:41 to play, following the Duale extra point.

Wagner would come up short on the following possession while losing its first Homecoming Game since 2005.

In the pivotal quarter, the Dukes outscored the Seahawks 14-3 while outgaining the Green & White by a 183-72 count.

For the game, Duquesne outgained Wagner 337-319, including 209-161 in the air. McCoy, the NEC's leading rusher, gained 131 yards on 29 carries (4.5 ypg) while Patterson was 16-of-31 for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Williams had nine catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, notching seven of those catches in the second half for 114 yards and both scores.

Foxworth ran for a team-best 83 yards, including 57 in the second half, on 23 carries (3.6 ypc) while Doscher added 68 yards on 14 carries (4.9 ypc) and one score. Doscher also was 8-of-26 for 150 yards and one touchdown in the air while Crawford was the primary target, hauling in a team-best three catches for 65 yards and his first score of the year.

On defense, senior Mike Cox (West Hempstead, NY / Friends Academy) had six tackles, including one sack and was all over the field while classmate Stefen Gage (Syracuse, NY / Henninger) also had another big performance, notching eight tackles and two pass break-ups. Junior Julian Stanford (Bloomfield, CT / Bloomfield) matched Gage with a team-best eight tackles.

NOTES: Earlier this morning, Wagner inducted Peter Demeropoulos (Football, '83) Artie DiMella (Football, '88), Mayuko Koshiba Perpetua (Women's Tennis, '94), Billy Kurisko (Men's Basketball, '91), Brenda Milano (Women's Basketball, '95) and Rich Negrin (Football, '88) into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame … Marc Lebovitz, '91 and a large contingent of his family, including his wife, sister, parents and kids were in attendance for the pre-game scoreboard ceremony … Foxworth, who finished up with 83 yards on 23 carries, was the James Robb Memorial Trophy winner, which is presented annually to the top offensive player and is sponsored by the Brotherhood of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity … Cox, who had six tackles and his fourth sack of the year, was the recipient of the Nick Lia Memorial Award, which is presented annually to the top defensive player and is sponsored by Elaine Sheehy and the Brotherhood of the Delta Nu Fraternity.